Overview of Christ Figure Films

Literal retellings of the story of Jesus have been replaced with more modern, ideological and symbolic tales that represent the passion of Christ (Walsh, 29). Christ figure films tell a more contemporary story in which characters, events, and details recall the gospel story, most notably Jesus’ suffering and sacrifice. The religious elements are often portrayed through a narrative which on the surface tells an entirely different story (Baugh, 2007: 17). A Christ figure film often depicts a character who is suffering and sacrifice's himself to save others (Tatum, 13-14). Christ figures in film represent the religious themes of Jesus' betrayal, humiliation and suffering (Deacy, 330).

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe (2005) is an example of a Christ figure film. The character of Aslan is a representation of Jesus. Aslan sacrifices himself for Edward and comes back to life, symbolizing the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ.

Stuart Rosenberg's Cool Hand Luke (1967) is also an example of a Christ figure film (Baugh, 2007: 17; Telford, 1997: 123). Luke Jackson is suffering in prison and sacrifices himself for his fellow inmates. Cool Hand Luke (1967) is a modern interpretation of the Jesus story.

(Image from Cool Hand Luke (1967) courtesy of Warner Bros.)

This photo is an image of Luke after he has eaten 50 eggs. Luke lies down in the shape of a cross, symbolizing the crucifixion of Christ (Barron, 102). This image is designed to reinforce the message that Luke is a representation for Jesus (Sloat, 458).

This scene depicts Luke digging a ditch and forced to climb in and out of it. The ditch symbolizes a grave and his climbing in and out of it represents the death and resurrection of Jesus (Barron, 104). Death and resurrection are common themes in Christ figure films (Kozlovic, Paragraph 47).

(Image courtesy of People.com)

Cool Hand Luke (1967) is a Christ figure film because the title character, Luke, undergoes betrayal, humiliation and suffering. He is betrayed by his closest friend and admirer, Dragline, when Dragline gives away Luke's location in the church and agrees to attempt to convince him to come back in exchange for a lesser punishment. A character who is betrayed by a close associate is a common characteristic of a Christ figure film (Kozlovic, Paragraph 40). Luke is humiliated and suffers a great deal from the severe beatings he suffers at the hands of the camp guards when they make an example out of him to the other inmates to show them what happens when you don't "get your mind right" (Cool Hand Luke, 1967).